Patriotic Front secretary general Wynter Kabimba yesterday said State House has become a bedrock and link in shoddy deals, which are compounding the poverty and misery of Zambians.

And Kabimba warned Bharti Airtel that PF shall not allow the perpetration of fraudulent transactions against Zambians.

Commenting on revelations that Bharti Airtel through one of President Rupiah Banda’s sons is seeking State House’s intervention to force the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to have the share price for Zain Zambia reduced, Kabimba condemned the manoeuvres.

“An attempt to reduce the value of shares against the Zambian shareholders in Zain is not only an act of fraud but an act of absolute bad faith in the manner that Bharti Airtel intends to conduct its business in Zambia after buying Zain Zambia,” Kabimba said. “This situation where State House has become the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in Zambia through people that are not employees of government reminds me of the late Julius Nyerere’s comment during the regime of president Ali Hassan Mwinyi of Tanzania when Nyerere said, ‘it is difficult for us to fight corruption when corruption starts at the door steps of State House’.